University of Leicester Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls ready to compete on the world stage
Rower Lauren Henry (left) and wheelchair rugby champion Nick Cummins. Lauren Henry photograph is credit: Team GB
Economics student Lauren Henry and History alumnus Nick Cummins will be hoping for glory in Paris as they compete as part of Team GB in the Olympics and Paralympics.
Lauren, who suspended her studies to train full time is part of the women’s quadruple sculls in rowing while Nick is a wheelchair rugby champion.
Lauren began rowing when she was 13 and was a sports scholar at Leicester which meant she was provided additional funding for sporting activities, equipment and competitions such as British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) and beyond. While she trained at Leicester Rowing Club she was supported by the University Boat Club and raced under BUCS when she could.
In her application for a scholarship she said: “My ultimate goal is to be an Olympic and World Champion in the single scull. I think it would be the most incredible achievement.”
She made good on that dream when she won the GB Rowing Team Senior Trials in 2023 at the age of 21. She was then selected for the GB Women’s Quad which went on to take the British Record at the Varese World Cup and became World Champion in a stand-out race in Belgrade later that year.
She is the youngest athlete in the squad which also includes Hannah Scott, Lola Anderson and Georgie Brayshaw.
She said: “It’s amazing and a dream come true to be selected. I want to thank everyone who has helped to get me to this point, my parents, coaches and teammates. It’s incredible being the youngest in the team. I remember being on a junior training camp and the coach said ‘one of you could still make the Paris team’ and I thought ‘I want that to be me!’, so to actually do it is amazing.
“I might be the youngest but I know I’m surrounded by a great group of experienced people and am confident in my performance and results. Ultimately, we still have a job to do and want to get a result in Paris that we can be proud of.”
Fellow sports scholar and gold medal Paralympian Nick Cummins is also hoping for glory in the games.
Nick, who trains in the University’s Danielle Brown Sports Centre and holds a PhD in History from Leicester, will be competing to retain his Gold-medal title in wheelchair rugby.
Wheelchair Rugby was introduced to the Paralympic programme as a test event at Atlanta 1996 and the ParalympicsGB team has competed at every Games since.
Stephen Bayley, Sport Experience Officer (Performance) at the University of Leicester, said: “We’re all wishing our incredible athletes the best of luck in Paris. We are very proud of what they have achieved in being selected to be part of Team GB.
“Lauren and Nick are some of many successes we’ve had through our sports scholarship programme. To make the marginal gains at elite level you need the support of the University and a dedicated support network – and that’s exactly what we help to provide. They are both true Citizens and Change and we will all be watching and cheering them on.”